The problem is with the birds, which do their business in a nearby parking lot. When it rains, their waste runs into the water. The breakwater prevents fresh water from mixing with the contaminated water.

Lynda Bruske goes there every day not to swim but to let her kids play on the beach.

"It's very dirty and gross with the seagulls out here. It's so bad.

"If there were a cleaner beach, would you swim in it?" WISN 12 News' Chris Gloninger asked.

"Yeah, I would!" Bruske said.

Bruske remembers being able to see the ground below the water, which is something she hasn't been able to do in years.

WISN 12 News has learned that Milwaukee County is working on a plan to fix it.

The county is proposing a plan, which may cost be between $2 and $4 million.

It would add more green space to allow for more water absorption and filtration. Building dunes and planting tall grass will help scare off the birds, which are the primary source of E. coli.

Kevin Haley from the Milwaukee County Parks System explained that part of the work can start now by dealing with the feces.

"We have initiated a fairly aggressive series of treatments -- deep plowing the sand beaches and a regular grooming which helps to fluff, aerate and expose them to sun thereby killing the e coli that's thriving in there," Haley said.

The Parks Department hopes to propose this in next year's budget. Similar work is planned for McKinley Marina as well.

South Shore Beach isn't the only one in southeastern Wisconsin getting low marks for high E. coli.

The others are Pennoyer Park Beach in Kenosha County, Red Arrow Park Beach in Manitowoc and the Kohler-Andrae State Park Beach in Sheboygan County.